Katong & Joo Chiat walking tour & city guide

Peranakan heritage

The pastel terrace houses on Koon Seng Road are among the most photographed buildings in Singapore. Shops sell beaded slippers, kueh and Peranakan porcelain.

East Coast

East Coast Park, a long seaside park with cycling paths and beaches, is just to the south.

Good to know

Katong and Joo Chiat are a short ride from the city center, with the Thomson-East Coast MRT line making the area much easier to reach. The neighborhood is quieter and more residential than the city center, with a strong local identity and several old churches and temples.

Peranakan, or Straits Chinese, culture blends Chinese and Malay traditions, and you can see it in the colorful tiles, carved doors and ornate facades of the shophouses, as well as in the food. Small shops along East Coast Road still sell traditional beaded slippers and embroidered kebaya blouses.

A walk through Joo Chiat

Begin on East Coast Road with a bowl of Katong laksa, where the noodles are cut short so you can eat the soup with just a spoon. Walk north along Joo Chiat Road, looking up at the shophouse facades, then turn into Koon Seng Road for the famous pastel terraces with their decorated tiles and swing doors. Finish at East Coast Park, where locals cycle, rollerblade and barbecue by the sea, and the sunset over the anchored ships in the strait is beautiful.